​Last week Vice News ran a segment about ancient statues and racism in which the HBO program discussed a controversy that arose when Classicist Sarah Bond published an essay in Forbes this past spring, and another in Hyperallergic, describing the fact that Greco-Roman statues were once brightly painted and not stark white as they currently appear now that the paint has rubbed off thanks to the ravages of time.

​This fact has been known since at least the eighteenth century, but the influential Classicist Johann Joachim Winckelmann essentially shut down research into ancient paint jobs because he believed that the lack of color created a Platonic ideal of the perfect artistic form. “The whiter the body is, the more beautiful it is as well,” he wrote, with an undeniably racist undercurrent. However, his overarching point was essentially the same as that of the cinephiles who praise back and white film over color, arguing that restrictions on visual information allow the viewer to focus on form rather than decoration. Nevertheless, the idea that statues were painted has been widely known since the Victorian era (I have a set of tobacco cards showing Classical statues with paint jobs), and every few years another Classical scholar “reveals” the fact to the public, to great shock from the amnesiac media. There was a big flap about it in the early and mid-2000s when Vinzenz Brinkmann began reconstructing the likely original colors.

Anyway, this year it’s Bond’s turn to cause the vapors among those who have never read a book on the subject, but more for the political ends to which she has applied what began as an artistic argument. Bond, you see, believes that museums and the media depict Classical statues in bare marble not because that is how they currently exist and how photographs would capture them but because it reinforces white supremacy.

In April, she wrote: “So what does it say to viewers today when museums display gleaming white statues? What does it say when the only people of color one is likely to see appear on a ceramic vessel? Intentional or not, museums present viewers with a false color binary of the ancient world. One that, in its curation, perpetuates this skewed representation of antiquity.” A couple of months later, she was much blunter: “Most museums and art history textbooks contain a predominantly neon white display of skin tone when it comes to classical statues and sarcophagi. This has an impact on the way we view the antique world. The assemblage of neon whiteness serves to create a false idea of homogeneity — everyone was very white! — across the Mediterranean region.”

She explicitly claimed that white statues support white supremacy and Republican politicians and therefore need to be opposed in the name of diversity. “It provides further ammunition for white supremacists today, including groups like Identity Europa, who use classical statuary as a symbol of white male superiority,” she wrote. “It also continues to buttress the false construction of Western civilization as white by politicians like Steve King.”

Bond raised the ire of conservatives by calling on museums and the media to display a greater variety of ancient skin tones to counter the narrative perpetrated by the whiteness of the marble, either by displaying recreations of the paint or by projecting paint colors onto ancient statues. White statues, she told Vice, are “a fiction we really like telling ourselves.” Writers from conservative publications like The National Review and The Blaze issued angry denunciations, and Bond received death threats from alt-right types who had been triggered by Bond’s claims.

The Vice segment presented Bond’s views without criticism or context, despite the political firestorm noted above, presumably because Vice itself has a political agenda to push.

This is, frankly, a little silly. If marble statues seem too “white,” what then do we make of bronze statues, which in antiquity were as popular as marble? Or the purple porphyry statue of the Tetrarchs? Or those in deep black basalt? Or in ruddy terra cotta? Ancient statues had many different colors of material used for them. Surely, we cannot blame them for the racism Bond sees in the fact that more marble statues survived than bronze. Yet at the same time, Bond did not ask that Egyptian statues or those of the Mesoamericans receive the same treatment. That’s because under the guise of attacking Western society’s political agenda, she has one of her own to push.

“I think that Western civilization itself is a cultural construction, something that has been used to argue for the superiority of Europeans and Western civilization and thus to connect the U.S. to Europe and its cultural heritage,” Bond told Vice News. She also denied to Art Forum that her comments were motivated by liberalism.

Bond’s argument is that museums and the media favor white marble because of unintentional racism, identifying their whiteness with the presumed whiteness of the Greeks and Romans, a presumption belied by facts, since the ancients were neither lily white nor homogenous. But while few would argue that scholars should deny the diversity of the ancient world or misrepresent ancient art, Bond is not actually looking just to represent reality as it was. Instead, she claimed that a primary focus of Classical studies should be to evangelize for the “vast palette of skin tones” in the Classical world, an argument that has much less to do with Greco-Roman Antiquity than with fighting modern political battles by proxy, something that, ironically, unites Bond with the earlier generations she despises for doing the same thing from an unsavory socio-political perspective.

And Now for Something Completely DifferentIt’s probably a sign of how far former TV personality Scott Wolter’s star has fallen that he dropped a new blog post on Sunday, and almost no one noticed. The subject of his current posting is ostensibly the anniversary of the death of Richard Nielsen, his onetime writing partner who later publicly broke with him over some of Wolter’s more extreme interpretations of the Kensington Rune Stone. The remainder of the blog post simply reiterates old material Wolter has been over many times since roughly 2009, in which Wolter attempts to assert that irregularities found on the Kensington Rune Stone imply that there is a secret code spelling out the word “GRAL,” referring, he believes, to the Holy Grail, which for him is the secret bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.

The only interesting part of the posting came in the comments when Wolter made some new claims about his fantasy of Knights Templar exploring the central United States in the fourteenth century:

Yes, we have new information we have not yet released to the public regarding the KRS party and much more. No, the Templars who cam[e] were not missionaries in any way; like their Native American brethren they venerated a feminine Deity first and foremost; there is absolutely no question about that. You can put to rest the notion of the Roman Catholic Church being involved in their mission out of your head. The RCC were the ideological mortal enemies of the Templars and Native Americans.

Based on the new documents, there is no evidence suggesting the Templars visited the central part of the continent prior to the KRS party.

The last sentence is the one to note because it seemingly contradicts Wolter’s prior claims about Templar and “proto-Templar” activities in North America, specifically his earlier claims that the “proto-Templars” crossed the United States to colonize Arizona, that the Templars issued a warning to the residents of Cahokia that prompted its collapse, and that the Templars buried secret treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. But to all of this, we must also add the allegations Wolter made in his book Akhenaten to the Founding Fathers that the Knights Templar also explored Mexico and Peru and colonized both. Granted, we never quite get a master timeline that states exactly when each fictitious event was meant to take place, so it’s entirely possible that some of these claims are a sort of moveable feast that can be relocated in time to whenever the newest claims need them.

I can’t imagine how he came to the conclusion that the Knights Templar worshiped a goddess, since there is no document to that effect, nor any such allegation from the Church or any other enemy of the Order. But when you get to make things up and invent your own fantasy about secret goddesses and hidden Jesus bloodlines, you don’t really need evidence to that effect. Wolter didn’t invent the claim, of course. He is merely copying from a series of authors who spoke of the “Goddess-worshipping Templars” in the 1990s, constructing fantasias based on few facts in the wake of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, the ur-text of the goddess/bloodline genre. The whole warrant for it traces back to the Templars’ alleged veneration of Mary Magdalene, whom fringe writers identify with Isis or some other pagan goddess via the so-called Black Madonna statues. The argument ran that such statues were holdovers from paganism and symbolized not the Virgin but the Magdalene. All of this tied into local folklore in Provence, attested from the Middle Ages, that the Magdalene had lived in France and was venerated as an important saint in the region. By the nineteenth century, the first writers began to suggest that the Provencal Magdalene was the wife of Jesus and the mother of his child. Wolter’s current fantasies are secondhand, to which he adds neither depth nor insight.

Glad I wasn't drinking my coffee when I read that, or it would have shot out of my nose.

As for Richard Nielsen's old site with links to very damning material exposing Wolter for the fraud that he is, it's no longer maintained. You can however still access the material through the old link should your browser allow it:

https://richardnielsen.org/discussion

Wolter's only proof that he goes on and on about in regard to the KRS is solely by assertion. He is a living, breathing fallacy. I suppose his "new documents" are just as worthless as the Halpern copies of copies of copies of copies that he previously flaunted which still embraced anachronism.

I do wonder now that his television shows are rarely if ever rebroadcasted, that he has any true fans left. The ones contributing on his blog seem to be mostly fringe wannabes and sock-puppets; with the occasional critic soon silenced after initial flirtation.

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Only Me

7/26/2017 11:03:51 am

Now, Joe, as one of the "so-called wise and educated" who is still "self-blinded and 'seemingly' confounded", you really should "run towards the KRS in panic, asking for forgiveness, while there is still time"...or so I've heard.

Or, you could keep doing what you've been doing by pointing out where BS is substituted for science and fact. I'm going to bet you aren't making plans for a road trip anytime soon. ;)

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Joe Scales

7/26/2017 05:43:25 pm

Therein lies the problem with discussing the legitimacy of the KRS. It's proponents are basically known frauds and/or idiots. I suppose if one wanted to bring in a heavy hitter to defend its authenticity, you might look to Alice Beck Kehoe. Thing is though, she accepted Wolter's "science" on its face, and to me that calls into question not only her competence, but her sanity. Perhaps like others, she was misled in her impressions of his academic fitness by his limited expertise in the field of building materials. It would be interesting to see where she stands now. Especially considering that when Wolter sought her input on his book, she begged him not to go the Dan Brown route. She also made it clear on her twitter account some years ago that she no longer recognized the History Channel as legitimate, given in part to its Templar take which Wolter has embraced. I do wonder if she has regrets for ever supporting him, as those with true academic credentials tend to do after giving him the benefit of the doubt.

TONY S.

7/26/2017 10:57:34 am

Wolter's frustration at his fading celebrity is clearly demonstrated by some of his replies to the negative comments regarding his TV show and books on Amazon.

The ancient Greeks and Romans must be somewhere face-palming themselves at all these insipid and repetitive discussions about color and race, which completely miss the point of the art, its symbolism, and the mythological and historical concepts meant for the viewer. They presumed a certain amount of intelligence on the part of their audience.

"The amnesiac media" - a perfect characterization.

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Shane Sullivan

7/26/2017 11:21:42 am

Ah, Vice. Were it not for signalling, what would they have to say? Literally nothing.

Literally.

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Americanegro

7/26/2017 12:24:44 pm

Form the "Progressing Nicely" blog post:

Anonymous
"ok, thanks. Good suggestion. My question was : what part of your book info came from Mr. Ruh? That was the comparison I was interested to read.

Scott WolterJuly 21, 2017 at 7:30 AM
Anonymous,

Only parts of the "C"-Document chapter. By the way, both Don and I have completed soon-to-be-published books that includes important new "C"-Doc material no one has seen yet. The difference here is we have a signed written agreements between us with respect to his copyrighted material."

It's a good thing Wolter has such a good history with "signed written agreements".

Odd situation with Wolters. Halpern worked on material given to her by Don Ruh...who at the time was not in sharing mode with Wolters....Halpern publishes, Ruh makes waves about it...Wolters book has material from Halpern, but he says he was given rights to it by both..wonder if that is true- if not, he did the exact thing Halpern did with Ruh's material...now- Ruh is in Wolter's den- money might have been a concern?- add in a woman who shopped around some documents- after being turned down by many who her story is about- lands in Wolter's camp, with D. Muir soon to have a book out, too? Such interesting combinations.

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Jim

7/26/2017 01:00:25 pm

Wolter in the comment section of his blog, says the Roman Catholic church
"were the ideological mortal enemies of the Templars and Native Americans."
Yet he claims the Templars recruited Cistercian Monks ( their mortal enemies ) to carve their all important land claim, and one would presume give them a working knowledge of the Templar secret codes.
Yikes, that would be akin to Hitler hiring British members of Parliament to draw up invasion plans for England and giving them an enigma code machine.
According to Wolter the Templars were wandering around N. America drawing maps using longitude 500 years before anyone else figured it out, but were illiterate and had to hire their mortal enemies to carve out a land claim in a language and alphabet the Templars didn't even use !
hahahahahahahah

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Joe Scales

7/26/2017 01:14:24 pm

Not surprising at all from the man who informed a cable television audience that St. Anthony was the patron saint of thieves (Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar). When pressed on this gross error of fact Wolter blamed the show's historian... which he was actually supposed to be given his introduction.

He is the imbecile poseur responsible for more unintentional humor than actual history. Just be thankful that even though his fifteen minutes of fame are over, we still have his online bungling to keep us entertained.

If you're reading this Scott... and I know you are... welcome to Obscurity. Population: You.

"I can’t imagine how he came to the conclusion that the Knights Templar worshiped a goddess, since there is no document to that effect, nor any such allegation from the Church or any other enemy of the Order. But when you get to make things up and invent your own fantasy about secret goddesses and hidden Jesus bloodlines, you don’t really need evidence to that effect. Wolter didn’t invent the claim, of course. He is merely copying from a series of authors who spoke of the “Goddess-worshipping Templars” in the 1990s, constructing fantasias based on few facts in the wake of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, the ur-text of the goddess/bloodline genre."

The history of Wolter's bumbling in this regard has its roots in sheer comedy. From an account of James L. Frankki (https://websites.godaddy.com/blob/65151a46-8ee3-453c-83d3-7b1077c69c9e/downloads/1bjjs6i1g_344546.pdf?f950e349), Wolter admitted in a lecture to a group of St. Paul Freemasons on April 26, 2006 that he did not know how to interpret the hook on the X. Then in a post lecture question and answer session, it was brought up by a member of the audience that it could represent a child. His wife Janet then steered him in the direction of the whole Dan Brown thing and it took off from there.

Professor Henrik Williams also provides his take on Wolter's ineptitude in this regard:

The white statues are way preferable and realistic than the painted ones - not only do they show the purity of us white skinned folks, they show how most of us are missing our heads, limbs and have major chips gone.

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Americanegro

7/26/2017 02:14:25 pm

This subtle racist agenda is all around us. Look no further than the white stripes on a road. White on top of black. The white golf ball symbolically impregnating the dark hole. The sun the moon and the stars constantly battling back against the blackness of the sky. Just look at the top of this webpage. And the button at the bottom? White saying "Submit".

Very disappointed in this one. Dr Bond does not at all say why statuary "leads" to racism. She is saying (and repeatedly says) it presents a view of the ancient world as consistently white and museums and scholars need to make a greater effort to show the diversity of the ancient world. One reason why it needs to be done is because that viewpoint (the 'lily white' perception of the ancient world) is used by white supremacists to promote their views. The museums and scholars aren't *causing* things or leading to things. But they are in a position to show that the viewpoint ain't quite accurate.

We should also not that most of the 'colorization' of statuary has focussed on what was being worn. We should also point out that we're talking a thousand years of art history, and styles change and artistic media often dictate what the final piece looks like. Just because the tetrarchs are in unpainted porphyry in the 4th century AD/CE, doesn't mean that the same style would have been popular in Hellenistic or Classical times. It's a much bigger subject than you're presenting above.

Obviously, the statues themselves don't cause racism, but she did say that they contribute to white supremacy and cultural chauvinism. The argument, as I mentioned above, is that the statues' whiteness is said to be read as a skin tone, and thus used to reflect back the viewer's racism. As I was trying to say, this isn't the statues' fault, for they are only one class of statues made from many different materials, but the argument that their very existence reinforces white supremacy is problematic because it implies that we must make history safe against what is in the viewer's own head.

And in the Winckelmann art legacy, it *is* a skin tone. All those 'restorers' of statuary removed whatever pigment was there to get to the 'whiteness'. Heck, for female statues any traces of genitalia were smoothed away! They didn't come out of the ground looking like that. This is an imposition of a view and its a view that is defended by a group that is problematic. If we as classicists, art historians, and museum curators *don't* speak up, we are silently endorsing that world view. That's what Dr Bond is saying ...

I'd also like a citation for where she says "that they contribute to white supremacy and cultural chauvinism". You have an important blog here; your words have authority ... right now, however, what you're saying can't be supported and it's a blight on your blog's reputation.

Americanegro

7/26/2017 06:58:39 pm

"Heck, for female statues any traces of genitalia were smoothed away! They didn't come out of the ground looking like that."

Challenge. How do you know what the pu55ies looked like.

Then you can explain the editing of all the paintings of female nudes.

And you know a lot of the statues in question "didn't come out of the ground" at all, right?

Yes I'm aware. On the 'restoring' of statuary, I'd suggest reading chapter 5 of Possession: The curious History of Private Collectors from Antiquity to the Present by Erin Thompson. That's probably the most accessible. I'm not talking about paintings of female nudes, but you might suspect that the same impetus to conceal female genitalia was working in them. But that's not what we're talking about here. Stay on topic.

Americanegro

7/26/2017 07:17:55 pm

So you're making stuff up. Gotcha.

"But that's not what we're talking about here. Stay on topic."

"Stay on topic" is internet code for "stop pointing that out." I'm not the one who went straight to talking about imaginary pu55ies.

And appealing to 'internet code' is the call of the 'internet troll'. Don't waste my time.

Americanegro

7/26/2017 07:54:33 pm

"And appealing to 'internet code' is the call of the 'internet troll'. Don't waste my time."

So when can we expect the cancer cure? Actually what you call "appealing to" and I call "catching you at" internet code is kind of the opposite.

Oh, Dave Meadows.

So you're making stuff up. Gotcha.

"But that's not what we're talking about here. Stay on topic."

"Stay on topic" is internet code for "stop pointing that out." I'm not the one who went straight to talking about imaginary pu55ies (that he really really wants to see).

Mandalore

7/26/2017 04:24:08 pm

While there are different materials used for statuary, none were idealized in the same fashion as marble. Just look at the Neo Classical style that emphasizes clean lines and white edifices. Dr. Bond is pointing out the tendency of some people to see the ancient world as a white paradise of Greeks and Romans while ignoring the diversity that existed. As you said, Jason, the statues aren't racist, but they are perceived in such a way as to support racist anachronisms based on early modern European biases.

And Western Civilization is certainly a construct.

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Titus pullo

7/26/2017 06:31:55 pm

Whats white? Romans? Hardly. As for western civ, the entire world had adopted the major constructs including natural rights, free markets, and liberty. Those few that havent are hell holes. This poor women has hatred in her heart. Diversity forced is just bigotry. Man does not need to be reconstructed by cultural warrories. As a Roman i have no problem with sculpures in their natural color. Bronze or marble. It looks wonderful

Shane Sullivan

7/26/2017 10:15:33 pm

"As you said, Jason, the statues aren't racist, but they are perceived in such a way as to support racist anachronisms based on early modern European biases."

Which is endlessly perplexing to me, by the way. If we're to judge from Glykon's reproduction of Lyssipos' Herakles, we'd have to estimate that the Classical period Greeks had grey skin with diagonal grey-brown stripes, and hair of the same color.

Also that the Mediterranean basin was very cold in ancient times.

Mandalore

7/26/2017 10:24:20 pm

Of course the Romans weren't lilly white, which was my point. But modern people picture them and other ancient prides peoples as such. As someone else pointed out, this applies to Jesus too.

Dr. Bond isn't suggesting forcing diversity, she is pointing out those who are maligning/minimizing the historical reality of diverse ancient cultures.

I think you misunderstood my characteristic of Western civilization being a construction. It is an Anglo idea based on the Whig theory of History. That we (as society) are on an inevitable upward path towards 'better' things. It is based on the idea of the coming kingdom of God/paradise. (And contrasts with ideas of cyclical history as found in Thucydides, et al.) Western Europeans saw themselves as the epitome of human civilization built upon the foundations of Greece and Rome. The U.S. then stepped into this role. The Western Civilization history college course is built around this idea: Greece, then Rome, then modern Europe (yay!). It creates a neat straightforward narrative that glides over inconvenient facts, outside influences, and justified European imperialism. There's a reason western civ is only taught in America today.

The idea of actively hampering diversity does not reflect the nature of the ancient world, which was Dr. Bond's point. Removing these sorts of passive characterizations inherited from an era of colonialism undermines preconceived notions about the ancient world.

Only Me

7/26/2017 08:36:03 pm

>>> Dr Bond does not at all say why statuary "leads" to racism.<<<

She said the following about the Apollo Belvedere:

[The Dutch anatomist Pieter Camper believed that he could find the formula for perfect beauty through facial angles and used the statue as a standard to be attained. He began to measure human and animal facial features, particularly the lines running from the nose to the ear and the forehead to the jawbone. Those ratios were later used by others to create the racist “cephalic index,” which categorized humans based on the width and length of their facial features.]

[The son of a famous botanist, Mathias Marie Duval developed numerous anatomical models that were broadly used in medical schools and perpetuated ideas of whiteness that never existed in the ancient world. They were derived from examples of classical sculpture, particularly (you guessed it) the Apollo Belvedere.]

[ It may have taken just one classical statue to influence the false construction of race, but it will take many of us to tear it down.]

"One reason why it needs to be done is because that viewpoint (the 'lily white' perception of the ancient world) is used by white supremacists to promote their views."

[As a classicist, I am no stranger to the seas of lily white, spectacled and tweed-wearing people at conferences. My field is dominated by white folks.]

It doesn't bother you that the same woman complaining about the "whitewashing" of history focused ONLY on the skin tone of the people at those conferences? When she mentions, "Just 2% of tenured full-time Classics faculty were minorities, according to the study", why is this important if race is a "false construction"? Has she even entertained other reasons for the disparity that don't rely on race?

I call into question her motivations when she appears to judge others on the basis of their skin. I also question her ability to ignore those art pieces which don't fit her "whitewashing" narrative. Look at the examples from the articles Jason linked in his post.

I'll grant you the Camper and Duval, butI think you'll admit that's an intellectual dead end. The things they came up with are not generally known (like white statues) and I don't think their canons are even observed any more.

On the conference issue, it's not an 'either/or' situation. It ALL contributes and feeds off the other. As a discipline, Classics is trying to deal with it; it can't be honestly dealt with unless it's confronted. That's what Dr Bond is doing.

Only Me

7/27/2017 11:25:29 am

Then Bond is going about it the wrong way. There are always other reasons for lack of diversity in a field. Maybe it's a lack of appeal or there hasn't been enough outreach.

Just based on her statements and your comments, there's already disagreement in the cause. Bond made Camper and Duval integral to her argument; you're saying their ideas are not generally known. Which is it?

Maybe Bond should be less interested in racial diversity and more concerned about diversity of thought. Virtue signaling is what I would call an intellectual dead end.

David Meadows

7/27/2017 06:30:52 pm

I'm saying they're not generally known so they really aren't part of this *now*. They are examples of the attitude in the past. In the past, the notions of beauty attached to the Apollo Belvedere fed the attitudes there. It's not still feeding those attitudes because they generally fell out of use. What Dr Bond is saying is that we have to have the 'white statue' idea fall out of use because it is still feeding such attitudes.

That said, It is pretty clear that I will not convince you of my viewpoint (or Dr Bond's) nor will you convince me of yours. All I ventured into this comment stream for was to show that Dr Bond's arguments have been misrepresented and I was very disappointed that a blogger I have great respect for chose the particular tack he did.

Only Me

7/27/2017 07:42:53 pm

I understand, David. I'm just helping to show Bond didn't frame her argument very well.

She can't base the "white statue" idea upon racist attitudes of the past, provide examples to make her case and then insist those attitudes are prevalent today when you yourself just stated Camper and Duval fell out of use. That means every one of Bond's examples of past racism fell out of use, too. See the problem? You can't keep blaming current problems on the past, unless you're trying to make the systemic argument...which Bond clearly is.

This is why her own attitude toward those conferences reveals she is obsessed with identity politics. Her whole argument, at its core, is "White is bad." Is that not racism?

If you want to fight racism, identify and confront actual racism, not what you perceive to be racism. If you want more diversity, reach out to those you want to include. You are not going to succeed at that last goal by telling minorities you want more of them in a field that is dominated by whites and prefers a white version of history.

El Cid

7/26/2017 03:07:35 pm

Although I was wonderfully surprised to learn that most of the white / gray marble in the classical world from sculptures to buildings were once brightly colored and painted etc, and it fascinates me to learn more about how their world looked to its inhabitants, I can also see another reason people might prefer the unpainted marble: the garishly colored versions do look kind of cheesy.

Now, to me that can apply *no matter* the color of the source material -- ebony, dark bronze, etc.

What if we were to discover that Rodin's Thinker was originally intended to be very brightly colored somehow?

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Bob Jase

7/26/2017 03:22:01 pm

I expect he'd be blushing what with being caught on the toilet like that.

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bear47

7/26/2017 10:30:10 pm

Good one Bob.
Um, er, unless he was an exhibitionist.........<snark>

Kal

7/26/2017 03:26:44 pm

The KRS is a questionable piece of history, not some kind of mythical secret code stone. If it was such a secret, why carve things on it to tell where it is and who made it? Clearly it was meant to draw attention to the carver, some 1800s farmer.

Yes, the Templars would nt have hired their enemies to make stuff, nor would their enemies have hired them. Well, since they were actually all killed off in France, there is no argument about it.

SW might want to rethink his obsession with the Mary bloodline someday.

He is a vague as a Tupac lyric when it comes to that. (In other words, not vague at all).

The sun bleaches everything, which did not occur to the bizarre racially charged statue analysis. How silly.

The banner though is black with white letters.

The Bocci ball can come in black or other dark colors.

The basketball is usually a shade of orange.

The tennis ball often comes in yellow lime.

Since many baseball bats come in brown or black, but are used to hit a white ball.

The American football comes usually in reddish brown.

Originally the Statue of Liberty was a bronze colored goddess figure (made from bronze), but now it is green, like a reptilian Oh no! Hah ha.. SW should analyze that. She is not white.

One can find meaning in abstract and symbolic things, or symbolism in something with no meaning or intent at all.

Like the KRS which was a fake carved by a local MN farmer.

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Only Me

7/26/2017 03:43:11 pm

The most racist game? Pool. The WHITE ball pushes COLORED balls back into holes. When the BLACK ball is sunk, you win.

Now, here's what makes the above doubly funny. On an older blog post, a commenter put forward the idea pool was a training aid for Freemasons...because of the shape of the rack. Wolter actually thought this "revelation" had merit.

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Joe Scales

7/26/2017 03:50:25 pm

Though bumper pool is more egalitarian, you just can't find a decent table in a proper dive bar.

Only Me

7/26/2017 04:19:27 pm

I must correct myself. It was actually Alan Butler, posting under Wolter's name, that really like the idea.

Jim

7/26/2017 05:59:16 pm

I don't play any of those prejudicial type ball games, but I like competing against others with powerful high speed autos. Am I still considered a racist ?

RiverM

8/1/2017 10:51:17 pm

The shape of the 8-ball rack being triangle / pyramid shape, or the 9-ball rack? Sacred goddess parts there.

Kal

7/26/2017 03:32:09 pm

And since one of you is bound to go there, allow me.Jesus was not white! Quit making silly alabaster blue eyed Jesus figures. It was probably the case for Mary and Joseph also. He likely looked quite tanned of complexion, from that region of Israel, and was probably short, stocky, had a large nose, and had black hair and brown eyes. Nothing wrong with Jesus being olive skinned, or with Mary. Seems silly they get white washed into looking like they were from the high north of Finland or something.

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Jim

7/26/2017 06:03:46 pm

Unless Jesus took after his dad, anybody know what color god is ?

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Americanegro

7/26/2017 07:04:34 pm

So in your worldview Jews are short and stocky like Tolkien's dwarves or Star Trek's Ferengi? You're an anti-Semite. Not joking.

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bear47

7/26/2017 10:35:59 pm

It is NOT just Jews who are semites. You need to check things a bit better. Arabs are also semitic peoples. My source for this? The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language.

Americanegro

7/26/2017 10:55:05 pm

"It is NOT just Jews who are semites. You need to check things a bit better. Arabs are also semitic peoples. My source for this? The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language."

Wow, never ever heard that before. "Anti-semite" is the common English term for "anti-jew". If this is news to you, you're welcome. But thank you for educating me. The funny part is you had to go to the dictionary.

So in your worldview Jews are short and stocky like Tolkien's dwarves or Star Trek's Ferengi?

Heike Kubasch

7/26/2017 06:17:15 pm

So which racial agenda do the famous Greek red figured and black figured vases promote? We know the statues were painted. However we do not know which skin color tones the Greeks and Romans chose. There is no evidence that the classical world re-presented diverse skin tones on their statuary, though they may have done so. This could only be discovered through intense scientific study. Since we do not know which colors or skin tones the ancients used, it would be deceptive and unscholarly to impose a variety of skin tones and colors on the statues that do not reflect their original colors. That being said, however, I disagree with artistic depictions in text books that depict the Greeks and Romans as necessarily white Europeans. I would like to point out that this is exactly how the Thessalians depicted themselves--white skinned, blue eyed and red haired.

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Americanegro

7/26/2017 07:11:06 pm

"That being said, however, I disagree with artistic depictions in text books that depict the Greeks and Romans as necessarily white Europeans."

Just don't disagree your way into France or the Lowlands.

Should the Greeks and Romans be portrayed as Chinese, since in your world they're not in Europe?

Would you disagree with contemporaneous pottery and fresco depictions? If so, you are a racist.

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Wounded by sharp tools

7/26/2017 07:26:08 pm

I am new to this blog. I am wondering why Wolter is getting any ink. He is a clown.

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Jim

7/26/2017 07:49:00 pm

It's a blog about pseudoscience, hence Wolter.
He gets more "ink" because many of us find him hilarious !

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SDO

7/26/2017 09:57:42 pm

I always thought that he pure white marble was chosen as a source material because it had fewer, or no, "veins" and therefore would be easier to carve without unwanted fractures. If similar pure marble was purple, yellow or whatever it would have been used. The color was irrelevant.

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Heike Kubasch

7/27/2017 07:17:08 am

I should have added, as an ex art historian, that it would also be a mistake to assume that the statues are "realistic;" because they look that way. A better term would be "naturalistic." While some of this sculpture is portraiture, this was a time when subjects had control of how they were depicted, and could tell the sculptor to alter their features. We know from Roman art that busts of the empress Livia were periodically updated to reflect the latest hairstyles to impress the public.
What is important from a historical and cultural perspective I think, is that this art reveals to us how the ancients wanted to be depicted, and in the case of mythological subjects are idealized depictions. Heroes are shown as handsome and muscular, for example.
After reading Bond's claim, I decided to see if I could find some classical sources of how they saw themselves. I went to Theoi.com. Bond may be in for a shock. Atalanta is golden haired, with "skin reddened by the sun," Ariadne is golden haired, some nymphs are described as golden haired or fair haired. Athena and Poseidon are blue eyed. These are idealized descriptions.
If there is a preference for fair skin, it could arise as a result of status. The reasoning being: peasants get dark skin from spending so much time in the sun. Rich people and aristocrats have lighter skins because they spend less time in the sun. Sitter to artist: "light skin please, I don't want to be mistaken for a peasant."

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Kal

7/27/2017 05:10:05 pm

Oy vey. Well someone has a lota chutzpah but not much moxie. Not possible for me to be an anti-Semite and that is way off track for the discussion.

It's not even a short joke. Maybe some of you prefer the white washed Jesus as depicted in classical and current times. How can it be racist to say he isn't white? Nobody mentioned fictional characters from fantasy, except one of you.

The Ferengi have more in common with trolls and goblins than with any known faith or stature.

The Hobbit is like nothing currently living, except maybe the little person, who is born short and has dwarfism.

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Americanegro

7/27/2017 05:48:21 pm

"KAL
7/27/2017 05:10:05 pm
Oy vey. Well someone has a lota chutzpah but not much moxie. Not possible for me to be an anti-Semite and that is way off track for the discussion."

So a self-hating anti-Semite then.

"It's not even a short joke."

It's not even a joke.

"Maybe some of you prefer the white washed Jesus as depicted in classical and current times. How can it be racist to say he isn't white?"

You're saying Arabs aren't white? Are they black?

"Nobody mentioned fictional characters from fantasy, except one of you."

Leaving aside Jesus, Aphrodite, etc. etc.

"The Ferengi have more in common with trolls and goblins than with any known faith or stature."

"The Hobbit is like nothing currently living, except maybe the little person, who is born short and has dwarfism."

I was a little person once, but I'm not a dwarf. Dwarves, or "little people" in your parlance, are not "born short". Do you even science bro?

Wow. You are so far off track that you live in a universe where tracks have not been invented.

If you don't know the difference between a Hobbit and a dwarf (you are the first to mention Hobbits) maybe the internet and/or breathing just isn't for you.

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Americanegro

7/28/2017 01:35:15 am

"AnonymousJuly 27, 2017 at 5:50 PM
"No, the Templars who cam were not missionaries in any way; like their Native American brethren they venerated a feminine Deity first and foremost; there is absolutely no question about that."

But wouldn't the American Indians coming from Northeast Asia have brought their worship of a male sky deity with them?

Regards,

Andre Kovac

Scott WolterJuly 27, 2017 at 6:54 PM
Andre,

Who said the Algonquin tribes came from Northeast Asia? The document make it clear the native tribes who the KRS party assimilated with venerated a feminine Deity."

Oh Scott. "Everyone who's not a stupid geologist, scratch that, minor college football player?" Then again, if the document make it clear, what can we say? What document, The Hitler Diaries? The Voynich Manuscript?

This fellow's stupidity verges on performance art. He doesn't get that he's been performance arted. Notice he doesn't quarrel with the religion of Northeast Asians but with the origin of the Algonquins.

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Jim

7/28/2017 02:58:13 am

Wolter just keeps piling new crap upon his old crap.
He basically has said the Templars came to central America with the intention of doing the KRS land claim thing, and then not going back to the east coast but staying and assimilating with the local tribe who venerated a feminine Deity. ( like the Templars )
He than says this ;
"Based on the new documents, there is no evidence suggesting the Templars visited the central part of the continent prior to the KRS party."
So, how in the frickety frack did they already know the local tribe venerated a feminine Deity, if they had never been there before ??? More secret knowledge I suppose lol.
.

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Jim

7/28/2017 03:00:56 am

Central America should read ...central North America.

Jim

7/28/2017 03:27:06 am

Not to mention that the Algonquins from what I can find, had Gitche Manitou as their main god.

"Gichi-manidoo is the father of life, "The Great Spirit, the Supreme Being"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe_traditional_beliefs

So, who is this feminine Deity that they venerated ?

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Joe Scales

7/28/2017 01:00:54 pm

Oh, the hilarity doesn't end there. Click on his twitter link to find such gems as "Janet and I will be sharing exiting new Templar research at Phippsburg Sportsmen's Association Club". Yes ladies and gentlemen, that Phippsburg Sportsmen's Association. The arbiters of all history that ever was and ever will be. Put down your guns and rods and let's track those elusive, Native American assimilating, slab carving Templars and their Cistercian sidekicks as we rewrite history.

In all actuality, it's rather sad to see this moronic rock peddler retweet others who force his television shows upon their children, so they "won't be fooled" when they return to school. Simply put, that's child abuse.

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Americanegro

7/28/2017 01:14:12 pm

And Wolter doesn't volunteer where the Algonquins "actually" came from. This Andre Kovac guy asks the challenging questions, but distracts Wolter with the shiny object of "Regards," at the end of his posts. It's almost like he's crafting them.

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Joe Scales

7/28/2017 01:23:56 pm

Too bad they don't have any codebreakers on that blog site. The more amusing ones are rather obvious, and yet they flounder in the dark in this regard. That's what happens when you work backwards in detailing your research.

I did not say Jewish people were short and dwarf like, you did. I said Jesus was probably short, as a lot of people were short back then. Most Roman gear from the period was for people about 5 foot tall. Not overly short, just not basketball player tall.

Fallacy of reasoning: Classic deflection in the absence of real data. You know people are growing taller. It is not a religious thing. Ergo, people were once on average shorter. Also, putting words into the mouth of others.

Since we are not talking about the Ferengi or Hobbits, get back on topic. You can just as easily look up Armin Shimmerman's take on Quark the Ferengi, but it's nor relevant.

Fallacy of reasoning: Bringing up a completely incorrect or distracting set of opinions, to keep the solving of the equation from happening, to base a weak theory on that cannot be tested. Ergo, the look over there hypothesis.

And if you think they're all like that, that's on you.

Fallacy of reasoning: Equating a totally unrelated form of data with an outlandish or unproven reply.

Arabs are from the middle east. Duh. They are from the same Abrahamic line as the Israelites. They are in essence brothers.

Fallacy of reasoning: One thing based on one social or religious group does not necessarily create an outcome for both, but can seem that way.

But who cares? This troll dude cannot even give a straight answer, let alone a cohesive one.

Fallacy of reasoning: When you cannot test the facts, simply make up new ones and distract from the pool.

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Americanegro

7/28/2017 01:07:56 pm

Fallacy of just making shit up: YOU brought hobbits into the discussion. YOU still don't know the difference between hobbits and dwarves.

Fallacy of putting words in someone else's mouth: "I did not say Jewish people were short and dwarf like, you did."

I said no such thing, I asked a question, and used YOUR WORDS, Ass, in the question. See below.

Ass: "He likely looked quite tanned of complexion, from that region of Israel, and was probably short, stocky, had a large nose, and had black hair and brown eyes."

Me: "So in your worldview Jews are short and stocky like Tolkien's dwarves or Star Trek's Ferengi?"

Notice no mention of hobbits.

Not to mention the fallacy of longwindedness. Do you ever shut up?

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Bill Birkeland

7/30/2017 01:58:54 pm

There are likely two main reasons that more marble statues (or more often their fragments) survived than bronze statues. First, bronze can be remelted and reused, while marble cannot. Finally, bronze is very important and valuable commodity that was often was needed for the manufacture of weapons in time of war. Thus, bronze statues, when discarded, were far more likely to be melted down and recycled, while marble statues were broken up and dumped as used as fill or dumped into the nearest body of water. As a result, marble statues, or typically their fragments, were more likely to be preserved for archaeologists to find later.

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Americanegro

7/31/2017 08:21:51 pm

Hence the name, The Marble Age.

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william m smith

7/30/2017 04:09:15 pm

The following link is long, however it may provide additional researched material that is related to The Holy Grail (https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/my-drive)

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